Pneumatic pump



Patented July 31, 1928.

UNITED STATES CHARLES B. ALYEA, OF DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS.

PNEUMATIC PUMP.

Application filed November 26,1924. Serial No. 752,414.

My'invent-ion relates to a pneumatic pump of the intermittent operatingvariety and has for its primary object the provision of a pump in whichcompressed air is utilized as a lifting force and in which a cylinder isemployed having an air inlet port and an air outlet port therein with aset of levers to which an upper and lower float are connected which areadapted to alternately open and close the said intake and outlet ports,the said floats operating independently of each other, and in which thesaid l-evers are locked by one float and released by the other 'HoatAnother and further object of my invention is the provision of a.pneumatic cylinder having a cylindrical casing which is comparativelysmall in diameter and which is adapted to be inserted in drilled orbored wells, as well as in open wells and the like and in which aminimum size is required in order to insert the cylinder in the casing.

Another and further object of my invention is the provision of a.pneumatic pump in which the arrangement of floats is such that the fullcapacity of the cylinder is utilized in operating the device.

Another and further object of my invention is the provision of apneumatic cylinder which is simple and etlicient in operation and whichis not easily clogged or otherwise put out of operation by sand and thelike lodging in the pump and causing leakage therein.

These and other objects of my invention will be more fully and bet-terunderstood by reference to the accompanyingsheet of drawings and inwhich z- Figure lis a'longitudinal view partially in section andpartially in elevation of my improved pump showing the valve operatinglevers in upper locked position;

Figure 2 is ay longitudinal view partially in elevation and partially insection taken at right angles to the view ot Figure 1y on line 2-2 ofFigure 1; and

Figure 3 is a. detail View partially in elevation and partially insection showing the locking levers in their lower locked position.

Referring now specifically to the drawings and in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, a cylindrical casing 10 isshown having an upper head 11 therein and secured thereto in anyapproved manner, the said head 11 having an air inlet port 12 controlledby a valve 13 mounted on the upper end'of a valve rod 14'which isconnected by means of a link 15 at its lower end to a bell crank lever16 by a -pin 17. On the opposite side of the cylinder head 11 from theinlet port v12, is an air exhaust port 18 which is opened and closed bymeans of a valve 19 mounted upon a valve rod. 20

which has a nipple 21 at the lower end thereof with a second rod 22mounted in a nipple 23 over which an expansion spring 24 is mounted, therod 22 being slidab'ly mounted in thel nipple 23 so that the valve 19 ispushed against the scat around the port 18 by the pressure of the spring24, the nipple-*23 being secured to a. bell crank lever 25 by means of apin 26. The lever 25 is pivot-ally mounted at its outer end upon a pin27 mounted at one end of and ext-ending through a pair of cross members28 and v34 which are. se,

cured to the sidesl of the ycasing 10 at each of their ends by spotwelding or the like, the bell crank 25 projecting inwardly towards thecenter of the cylinder 10 andl has an angularly disposed portion 29 atthe end thereof to which a rod 30 is secured by means of an eye 31formedL on the rod 30 with an upper float 32 mounted upon the upper endof the rod 30. The bell crank lever 16 is mounted upon a pin 33 whichextends through the cross members 28 and 34 at their opposite ends fromthe pin 27, the crank lever extending inwardly towards the center of thecasing 10 and having an angularly Y' disposed end 35 projectingoutwardly and downwardly therefrom to which a rod 36 is Secured by meansofv an eye 37, formed Vin said rod 36, the said rod 36 having a sleeve38 mounted thereon at the lower end of` their upper and lower lockedpositions. The Y levers 16 andy 25`lwith the links 40and 41 when intheir upper and lower positie-ns respectively, form an arch or trussacross the casing -10 with thepins 42 and 43 at the uppermost andlowermost points of the arch respectively. The ends 29k and 35 areturned .having openings at an angle to the levers and 16' respectivelyso that when the levers are pulled into their locked positions thecenters ott-he pins 42 and 43 are outside of a line drawn trein thecenters of the pins 33 and and 27 and 42 respectively, so that torceapplied to lthe outside of the arch has no etl'ect thereon and docs notresult in any inovenient of the levers 16 and 25, the lines of torcepassing directly to the pins 27 and 33. rlhis truss or arch isalternately vtornied with a long` and a short side dependingupon thealignment ofi the links and 4l with the levers 16 and 25 and when torceis applied to the long arni alone trein the inside of the truss, thetruss is hroken and is again Yiorined on the opposite side of thehorizontal center. rl`he toreo for breaking the truss is applied toalternate sides there-of by the oounterweights 32 and 39 as the water inthe cylinder raises and lowers these lioats. t will be noted that theangular portieri 35 ot the lever 1G and the ineinber 25 are parallelwith each other when the levers are in the position shown in Fig ure 2,and that the upper edge ot' the portion 35 contact-s Vagainst the loweredge or" the portion 25, and the saine condition applies to the portion29 and the lever 1G as shown in Figure 3, when the truss torined on thelower side ot' the horizontal plane reerred to above.

The cylinder head ll has' a chamber 44 extending transversely thereininto ono side` ot which a pipe terminates, the said pipe extendingdownward along` the out-er wall ot' the casing 10 to thelower endthereoi and has a lbolt 46 positioned in the lower end of the pipe whichextends through the lower cylinder head 47. llt the opposite side ot thecasing is a. sirnilar pipe 4S also terminating in the transverselyextending' chamber 44 in the cylinder head ll., the said pipe 43 havinga bolt 49 in the lower end thereof which extends through the lowercylinder head 47, a. cap 50 being provided which extends over the lowerend oi"- the cylinder 47 and which carries a projection 5l within whicha valve stem 52 is seated scoured to a Vvalve 53 which holds t-hegravity operated valve 53 in position, the valve 53 lia-vino' the usualgasket 54 secured thereto and which seats upon an annular shoulder 55formed in the head 47, the lower head 47 and cap 50 therein throughwhich water passes into the casing l0.

rlhe said outlet pipes 45 and 48 have ports 56 and 57 at their lowerends and the cylinder head l1 has an outwardly projecting portion 58which is internally threaded and to which an outlet pipe is secured witha check valve 59 located therein to prevent the water flowing; backwardinto the cylinder as will be inore tully described hereinafter.

rlhe operation oit the device is exceedingly simple in that it is placedbelow the water 1,evo,111

to the cylinder head ll at 6l adjacent the air outlet port i8. Assuming1that the water in the cylinder 1s being exhausted by air underiin'essure being` admitted thereto, theV lower tioat 39 drops downward,the sleeve 33 slidingl along the rod 3G until its weight is suspendedfrom the end 35 ot' the lever 16 by means of the rod 36, the weight oi'the float 39 ,being sutlicient to break `the long arni orf the truss bypulling the lever lo around the pin and thus unlocking the levers 1S and25 and pulling`v the ends oi the levers 16 and 25 downward into theposition shown in Figure 3, thereby drawingl the valve 13 downn-ard andclosing the intake port l2 and at the saine time pulling the valve 19away freni its seat and openingthe air exhaust port 18 which thus allowsthe een'ipressed air to escape from the cylinder l0. Thereupon waterenters the casing l() by lifting the valve 53 in the lower end of thecylinder 1G and the cylinder l'ills with water, 'driving out the airwhich has been reduced toatrnospheric pressure in the cylinder and asthe cylinder ll() iills with water the float. 39 rises, the sleeve 38sliding along the rod 3G until the upper end of the sleeve 33 eoinesincontact with the eye 37 in the rod 36. rllhis float remains in thisposition ior the tiine beinfr because its lifting torce applied to thepin 42 and the torce thereby being` divided against the pins 27 and 33so that trio arch 'torniod below the horizon- Y tal plane ot the pins 27 and 33 remains 1ntact until force isapplied to the long arni et theareh by yan upward lpull ot the lfloat as hereinafter described. Themembers Il and34 are curved outward `so'ihere is sutiicient clearancebetween these neinbers at their centers so the pins 42 and'43 can passbetween these ineinbers.

The cylinder continues to till with water and as the water rises in thecylinder the float 32 exerts anupward pull on the lever and thuspulling` the levers out ol their lockedlower position and into theposition sh vn in Figure l, thus opening the air inlet port l2 andclosing the outlet port 13,

whereupon compressed air is admitted into A in. their upwardly archedposition which in this position are above the horizontal plane,

so that the force applied to these levers 4in a downward direction atthe center of their angle is transmitted directly to the pins 33 and 27andthe levers are thus locked in position against movement from thisside. However, as the waterv recedes in the lower portion of thecylinder the float 39 recedes with kthe water, the sleeve 38 slidingdown over the rod 3G until the float is near the bottom of the cylinderwhen it exerts its force upon the bell crank 16 pulling the leversdownward into the position shown in li`igure 3 and thus closing the airinlet port 12 and opening the air port 18 when the cycle of operationsheretofore described is again conipleted. A steady flow is obtainec., ifdesired, byusing a small equalizing tank on the water line. Y

' lt. will thus be understood that the bell cranks 16 and 25 afterhaving been acted upon by the floats 32 and 39 respectively, are` lockedagainst counteraction byV the said floats and that movement of thelevers r1G and 25 is always accomplished by the floats actingalternately and that the levers are' held in locked position untilconditions change in the cylinder 10 to cause either the upper or lowerfloat to operate depending upon whether the water is rising in thecylinder or being exhausted therefrom. The casing 10 can be made as longas may be desiredy and the full length thereofutilized by positioningthe floats 32 and 39 adjacent the upper andl lower ends thereof and witheach operation the casing 10 becomes substantially filled with water andis also' substantially emptied with each operation of the device. Theadmission of compressed air into the water, of course, causes the valve53 to seat so, that the water is forced out through the ports 56 and5'?. Y l

Thilo l have described more or less precisely the details ofconstruction, I do not wishv to be understood as limiting myself hereto,as I contemplate changes inl form and the proportion of parts and thesubstitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or renderexpedient without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

I claim :j n

1. A. pump comprising a casing having air inlet and outlet ports andwater inlet and outlet openings, valves controlling the air inlet andoutlet ports and water openings,7a pair of pivotally mounted leversadapted to open and close the air valves, vthe said levers eo-acting toform arches above and below the pivotal mountings, connections betweensaid levers and the air valves and means operated by the water whereby7la pulling force is exerted on said levers when in arched positionthereby opening and closing the air inlet and outlet ports.

2. A pump comprising in combination a casingl having air inlet andoutlet ports and water inlet and outlet openings, valves controllingsaid air ports and water passages',

a pair of levers, pivot-alv inountings forv said levers intermediate theends of said casing,

connecting rods connecting said levers and the valves controlling thesaid air inlet and outlet ports, upper and lower floats connected tosaid levers and controlled by the rise and fall of the water in saidcasing for actuating said levers, and alinlr connecting the said levers.Y

3. 'A pump comprising in combination a casing having air inlet andoutlet ports and `water inlet and outlet openings, valves con- ,casinghaving air inlet and outlet ports and water inlet and outlet openings,fvalves eonf trolling said air ports and water passages,

Va pair of levers, pivotal mountings for said levers intermediate theends of said casing,

connecting rods connecting said levers and the valves controlling thesaid air inlet and outlet ports, connecting members between the saidlevers whereby the said levers form arches across said casing in upperand lower positions and an upper float adapted to actuate said levers inone direction as the water is rising in said cylinder and a lower floati adapted to operate the said levers as the water is forced out of saideasing. 5. A pump comprising in combination a casing having air inletand outlet ports and vwater inlet and outlet openings, valvescontrolling said air-ports and Water passages,'a pair of levers, pivotalVmountingsY for said levers intermediate the ends: of said casing,connecting rods connecting said levers and the valves controlling thesaid air inlet and outlet ports, connecting members between the saidlevers whereby the said levers form arches across said ycasing in upperandlower positions, and an upper `float adapted to actuate said leversin one direction as the `water is rising in said cylinder and a lowerfloat adapted to operate the said levers as` the water is forced out ofsaid casing, the said lower float being slidably mounted upon the end ofone of said levers.

(i. A pump comprising in combination a casing having air inlet andoutlet ports and water inlet and outlet openings, valves controllingsaid air ports and water passages,

ianV

a pair ot levers, pivotal mountings for said levers intermediate theends of said casing, connecting rods connecting said levers and thevalves controlling the said air inlet and outlet ports, connectingmembers between the said levers whereby the said levers term archesacross said casing in upper and lower positions, an upper float adaptedto actuate said levers in one direction as the water is rising in saidcylinder and a lower float adapted to operate the said levers as thewater is forced out et said casing, a pair ot bell crank levers havingangularly disposed ends, the said ends extending parallel to the bodyportion ot each of said levers when in locked relation, and upper andlower lloats operated by the rise and tall ot the water in said casingand adapted to pull the said levers into and out ot locked relation witheach other.

7. A pump comprising in combination a casing having air inlet and outletports and water inlet and outlet openings therein7 a pair et pivotallymounted levers in said casing, means connecting said levers whereby thesaid levers are formed in upper and lower arched positions in saidcasing, floats actuated by the rise and tall of the water in saidcasing, means connecting the said floats and the said levers, andoperating connections between. the said levers and the valvescontrolling the air ports. l'

8. A pump comprising in combination a casing having air inlet and outletports and water inlet and outlet openings therein, a pair of pivotallymounted levers in said casing, means connecting said levers whereby thesaid levers are formed in upper and lower arched positions in saidcasing, iioats actuated by the rise. and tall of the water in saidcasing, connecting means for said floats and said levers and operatingconnec- VGO tions between the said levers and the valves controlling theair ports, each of said levers having angularly disposed ends adapted tolie against the edge of the co-operating lever when the levers are inarched positions.

9. A pump comprising in combination, a casing having air inlet andoutlet ports and water inlet and outlet openings, valves controlling theair inlet and outlet ports and water openings, a pair oit co-actinglevers pivotally mounted in said casing, connections between the saidlevers and the valves controlling the air inlet and outlet ports, meansconnectingthe said levers, the said levers and connecting means formingarches above and below the pivotal centers of the levers, and meansoperatedby the movement `of the water in the casing whereby a pullingforce is exerted on said levers when in arched position thereby breakingthe arch on one side ot said center and reforming it on the other sideof said center, and opening and closing the air inlet and outlet ports.

10. A pump comprising in combination, a

casing having air inlet and outlet ports, wa-

ter inlet and outlet openings, valves controlling the air inlet andoutlet ports and water openings, a pair ot coacting levers pivotallymounted in said casing, connections be* tween the said levers and thesaid valves controlling the air inlet and outlet ports, means connectingthe said levers, floats in the said casing, and means connecting thesaid lioats and the said levers, the said floats co-acting to torce thesaid levers and connecting means into arched positions on each side ofthe pivotal mountings of the said levers. l 11. A pump comprising incombination, a casing having air inlet and outlet ports and water inletand outlet openings, valves controlling the air inlet and outlet ports,co-acting levers pivotally mounted in said casing, a pivotally mountedmember connecting the said levers, means connecting thesaid levers andthe valves controlling the air inlet and outlet ports, an upper tloatlconnected to one ot said levers, and a lower float connected to theother lever. I Y

l2. A pump comprising in combination, a casing having air inlet andoutlet ports and water inlet and outlet openings, valves controlling theair inlet and outlet ports, co-acting levers pivotally mounted in saidcasing, a pivotally mounted member connecting the said levers, meansconnecting the said levers and the valves controlling the air inlet andoutlet ports, an 'upper float connected to one of said levers, and alower float connected to he other lever, the rise and tall of the waterinsaid casing causing the floats te form the said levers and connectingmember into arched positions above and below the pivotal centers of thelevers, the connecting member being in alignment with one of said levers'in one position of the arched form of the levers and with theotherlever in the other arched position.

13. A pump comprising in combination, a casing having air inlet andoutlet ports and water inlet and outlet openings, valves controlling theair inlet and outlet ports, co-acting levers pivotally mount-ed in saidcasing, a pivotally mounted member connecting the said levers, meansconnecting the said levers and the valves controlling the air inlet andoutlet ports, an upper float connected to one of said levers, and alower float connected to the other lever, the said levers and connectingmember being termed in arched position in said casing by the floats andadapted to sustain the weight of one of the floats on the outside of thearch.

14. A pump comprising in combination, a casing having air inlet andoutlet ports and water inlet and outlet openings, valves controlling theair inlet and outlet ports, co-

acting levers pivotally mounted in said caslln ing, a pvotally mountedmember connecting the said levers, means connecting the said levers andthe valves controlling the air inlet and outlet ports, an upper floatconnectecl to one of said levers, and a lower' float connected to theother lever, the said levers and connecting member being formed inareheclpostons by said floats, the said connecting member forming anextension with one of said levers in one arched-pos- 10 lion and anextension With the other of said levers in the other arched position.

CHARLES B. ALYEA.

